All Forum Posts by: David Holt

@Joseph Goode I'm not a pro, but recently bought in Davenport/Kissemme. I like the idea of Disney being pretty busy year round. Plus you have Universal, Sea World, plus Legoland not too far and even the beaches as well as the Space Museum too same distance as the beaches. Plus that area has a lot of water areas for play (Volcano Bay) and HOAs with pools and play areas....depending on which community.

I personally like the beach and think you'll get good numbers during summer and even during other seasons. But I feel you'll get steadier numbers near year round attractions. A lot of foreigners too like to visit Disney and that area. But run numbers and see what works out and go with your gut as what was mentioned.

@David Holt forgot one more thing...WiFi...get a good modem and wifi router that you have remote access into. Good to be able to troubleshoot any guest issues but also the automation systems.

We also use ring for doorbell/video for our front door....dont have anything in the back...yet. It's obviously a leader in the market. I also use Wyze systems in my personal home which is decent for the price. I think ring is a bit more reliable but I haven't had too many issues with Wyze.

And if you have more than one property, you can obviously use the same apps/devices which makes it limit the amount of systems needing to touch/configure.

@Emily Taylor shclage encode is good. I also use it with yourporter and it creates codes automatically for me that I use in templates to send to the guests before check in.

I also use I believe it's the T-9 Honeywell. It's good. However, what I don't like is that you can't set a hard floor/limit on temps. You can set alerts, but if a guest drops the temp too low it doesn't stop them. Other systems can do this I believe. I'd prefer that instead of having to worry about electricity usage and damage to the AC from being too low too long.

For the pool automation, we had our pool company recommend and install the equipment. It's pretty much a smart switch that runs between the circuit breaker to the pool heat and pump and the pool system. It's not posh but allows me to turn on/off which is all I need. I keep the temp at the same number and if a guest needs to change it I have a video in the virtual guest book they can view to guide them. Id get a system that whomever is taking care of the pool is okay with so if there are issues, they can help.

Hope this helps.

@Chris Levarek awesome post and details on your journey! It helps keep me inspired and persevere knowing that very successful peers & mentors like yourself are hitting very big hurdles, but overcome them and see the light at the end of each tunnel. Because of your trials and success, and your telling of them, I was able to get the courage needed to begin looking into real estate and now starting my own journey. Thanks for your inspiration, example, and mentorship! Rock on!

I'll put on the calendar. Was going to go to one of the ones in person right when COVID happened....was a bummer, but glad I get to attend one. Looking forward to it. Thanks!

I'm new/starting out as well and have had the same questions and problems....as I think most do. A lot of the ideas posted already are solid and good advice.

I'd search for real estate agents in some of the markets you are thinking about investing, here on BP. Tell them you're criteria (the more specific the better), and see what the MLS has. Then start crunching numbers on the BP calculators for the BRRRR or just a regular buy and hold. See what you guys come up with.

Also network with people in the markets you are thinking about. Search here on BP for meetups and also on the Meetup app or website. A few times I've seen virtual meeting or walk through of properties that you can do remote...from home. This will help you see what areas are good/bad to invest in especially being out of state.

Then do some research in the areas that will solidify the area (colleges near by, big companies or organizations that will have work for employees in most economic situation, city improvements, etc).

Just my opinion, but if states enact this and close somewhat one sector of business, they have to have a way to compensate or close all sector of business (not allowing lenders collect for example). Seems completely unreasonable to stop one portion when there is a chain of businesses in the circle that will be impacted. If one is taken out, they all must as they are impacted. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter what I think, the law of the land will prevail and we must adapt to survive to the new way of live (even if for a short time). If it happens now, even if for a little, it opens the same door in the future. 

@Tyler Caglia One more important question I had and forgot to ask. The first deal it appears that you left a lot of your HELOC money in the property. How does this play into your overall strategy? I've always had the way of thinking that I had to pull it all out of a BRRRR to be a deal; but have been thinking recently that as long as you factor in the interest of the HELOC of what's left in the property to the cash flow (subtract it from the cashflow) and as long as it's in the plus with all other expenses, you should be fine.

What are your thoughts or strategy to pay back that HELOC interest and/or the principal?

Thanks again for your post and time!

@Tyler Caglia Awesome post and success! This may have been asked ( I read the first couple of pages of the post and the last), but was wondering if you chose houses around the same sizes and room count to make things simple as you were used to the first one, or if it was by chance? It would seem easier to do as you did and pick similar properties to more easily calculate numbers and rehab with the same amounts of material/labor, but the odds of that happening in some markets may be low I'm assuming. Just curious on your thoughts.

Thanks again for the inspiration and detailed info on the properties!

 Have to put this in my 5 year or 1 year goal lineup. Take good notes @Chris Levarek and hope you enjoy!